Sequestration would cut emergency unemployment compensation for long-term unemployed Americans by as much as 9.4%, according to the Department of Labor.

Learn More: 5 key facts about sequestration

Unless Congress and the White House reaches a deal to avert sequestration by March 1, the discretionary budget will suffer $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts on top of the $1 trillion cuts and spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act in 2011. The Department of Labor is funded through the non-defense discretionary budget.

Thus, if sequestration takes effect, more than 3.8 million Americans would see their emergency unemployment compensation reduced. The average individual would “lose an average of more than $400″ in unemployment benefits – a significant blow to job seekers trying to make ends meet.

“Smaller unemployment checks will also have a negative impact on the economy as a whole,” noted Seth Harris, Acting Secretary of Labor, to the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Economists have estimated that every dollar in unemployment benefits generates $2 in economic activities.”

Furthermore, sequester cuts would reduce funding for states to administer the unemployment insurance program, leading to delays in processing claims and more backlogs of appeals.

Learn More:

• Senate Appropriations Committee: Letter on the impacts of sequestration from Acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris – Feb. 2013 (PDF)
• WhatTheFolly.com: Overview of Department of Labor sequester cuts
• WhatTheFolly.com: 5 key facts about sequestration
• WhatTheFolly.com: Analysis: Impact of sequestration on non-defense discretionary spending